The Native American South Carolina Archive (NASCA)

“I work at the University of South Carolina. We had a student-built web archive of Native American materials held by the university. It was promising, but had some problems and various fixes that needed to happen. I found Rystedt Creative via Twitter, and reached out–and I am very glad I did! Joshua is a very, very good web developer, with an excellent understanding of both the front- and back-end technologies and how they interact. He thoroughly reviewed our site, letting us know about the strengths and weaknesses of it, and listened carefully to our desires and plans for the site. He did great work, and the communication from him and his team was steady, informative, professional, and helpful. Pricing is very fair, and work was done in a timely manner. Our site is a real gem now because of the excellent work he did. If Joshua could wade through often-confusing student code and improve and fix a flawed site, imagine what he can do for you working from a blank slate! Hire Rystedt Creative already!” ~ Matt Simmons, The University of South Carolina - Lancaster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Native American South Carolina Archive (NASCA) is a joint project of the Native American Studies Archive at the University of South Carolina Lancaster, the University of South Carolina’s Institute for Southern Studies, and the University of South Carolina Libraries’ Digital Collections. NASCA exists to help correct misconceptions about Native South Carolina through an interactive and robust media archive. The online Native American South Carolina Archive brings text, visuals, and audio about South Carolina’s native communities, their history, and their culture freely to the Web. The University of South Carolina Lancaster’s students helped bring…

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Farm Market iD

Farm Market iD is a national businesses that provides data driven marketing and software solutions for agriculture businesses. They offer a wealth of useful content for agri-businesses on their blog, in their articles, and in their ebooks. In addition to this wealth of free content they also sell farm data and software like FarmFocus and FieldVision.FMiD is a unique company in a unique position. Their unparalleled database paired with their software and written content make them an invaluable resource for agri-businesses of all types. For over six months we worked closely with FMiD to give their content marketing a boost and help them launch a new website for the company. Writing value added content Our writing team regularly provided value added content for Farm Market iD including blog posts, feature articles, and e-books to supplement the content they were already creating. We've written blog posts like: 4 Questions Data Can AnswerUsing Data to Predict & Act On Farmers' Behavior5 Strategies for Selling Directly to Farmers Our feature articles include: Building a Data-Powered Agriculture Business PlanA Data-Led Sales Conversation, Start to FinishStarting an Agriculture Blog, Start-to-Finish We have also written the content used in FMiD's ebook on Using Data in the Field.  Our written content is helping FMiD reach their content marketing goals. Through this content the company is increasing their web traffic and conversions. Modifying HubSpot Content FMiD uses both HubSpot and WordPress for various aspects of their online presence. In addition to our development on their WordPress website we have also supported FMiD's HubSpot content. Modifying HubSpot Landing Page Templates In order to convert web traffic to leads Farm Market iD wanted fresh landing pages for their expanded content. We designed four…

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Total Restoration Services

Total Restoration Services is a restoration contractor located in Hampstead Maryland that specializes in facade maintenance, above and below grade repairs, waterproofing, and more. For over a decade TRS has been restoring and repairing buildings throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington D.C, and Delaware. Their team has over 50 years of combined experience working on historic architecture, industrial buildings, residential and commercial buildings, and speciality facilities. Despite this wealth of experience, Total Restoration Services had virtually no presence online. They had built a successful business but began to wonder "How much are we missing out on by not being online?" That's an excellent question and one that they turned to us to help answer. So we began a journey with TRS to help launch a website that would give them more visibility online. Atmosphere Design Before we begin writing any code for a website we establish the atmosphere and branding for that site. Total Restoration Services came to us as an established business with an existing logo and reputation. We selected fonts, colors, and layouts that stayed consistent with their past while also bringing their company into their online future. Website Development When we began working for TRS they wanted to keep their website under budget while still getting the best product possible. In order to accomplish this they asked us to develop a site using their existing print promotional materials and project photographs. We designed their site to incorporate all of these existing elements and showcase them in the best (and most search engine optimized) fashion possible. Copywriting However, towards the end of the project, as the scheduled launch date approached, Total Restoration Services realized something important. Their print material…

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Jennifer Zucconi Nutrition

Top notch service and design! Joshua took me from having zero real estate to one of the most beautiful “homes” in the virtual neighborhood! In starting my business there was so much to think about. Website development was something I knew I’d have to outsource…I had NO idea how or where to start! The first time I talked with Joshua he spent most of our conversation listening as I shared about my emerging business, my anticipated goals, and my very scattered ideas of how I envisioned my website. He’s definitely a good visionary, because he took my fuzzy ideas and transformed them into a crystal clear, and beautiful, reality! In addition to his visual creativity, his SEO expertise has helped lead many searches to my site. Joshua stayed in constant contact with me as he was building my site, and he continues to be a great resource for me while I’m up and running. He responds very promptly, answers my (many) questions completely, and has taught me how to begin using the behind-the-scenes elements of my site. I’m so glad I found Rystedt Creative! Joshua was instrumental in creating a wonderful place for me in the virtual world. Whether you’re starting from zero or you have a fixer-upper, Joshua and Rystedt Creative can create a space you’ll be so excited to invite visitors into! - Jennifer Zucconi Jennifer Zucconi is a Dallas area registered dietician and food sensitivity specialist. She contacted us to help her launch her virtual dietetics practice! When we began working with Jennifer she had no branding, logo, or website. She had all the knowledge, expertise, certifications, and (most importantly) passion. All she needed was a helping…

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Does Your Blog Need a Web Developer?

Blogging is a great way to share your brilliant insights to the world. But if you’re a writer and not a web developer, you probably don’t particularly enjoy all of that technical stuff that comes along with maintaining your blog's web presence. (I know I don’t.) Setting up a blog, managing hosting (including security and backups), customizing your theme and webpages all take time. And when you’re trying to live the life or run the company that your blog centers around, the things you need to do to maintain your blog can easily sap the precious moments you’d rather use for writing. That’s why your blog needs a web developer. So you don’t waste your time managing the technical details of keeping your blog running. Here are some of the key areas where a web developer can improve your web presence and boost your blog’s reach: [text_with_frame id="368c1dbfefba91dceb946d322e0e86bc" content="‹¨›p‹˜›‹¨›em‹˜›If you find this article helpful consider giving it a share‹¯›nbsp;‹¨›/em‹˜›?‹¨›/p‹˜›" line_color="rgba(0,0,0,.07)" text_font="body" heading_font="heading" animation="none" animation_speed="2" animation_delay="0" __fw_editor_shortcodes_id="e6852c2dacc162bc8c34ba646905e841" _fw_coder="aggressive"][/text_with_frame] Let Your Web Developer Handle Hosting, Backups, Uptime Monitoring and More Right out of the gate, there are some technical issues that a blogger must handle before even drafting a first post. From choosing a domain to finding a reliable host and putting systems into place to maintain security, it might take a few hours or days before your blog is up and running. And that’s before you even do the fun stuff, like choosing a theme or sticking your logo on everything. Depending on how much research you want to do to find the best host or security plan, you might spend a good amount of time trying to figure out just…

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Should you pay per project or per hour for your web development and design?

If you are in the market for web-development you will eventually be presented with a pricing model for the services you're requesting. One Facebook user recently commented on a request for WordPress support that "eventually developers will slap a price on it". Well if you are in the market for web development services you are already aware that there will be a cost associated with it. What you may not be aware of is the different pricing models used in the market. There are generally two pricing models you could be presented with: per project or per hour. Some web developers and web designers will only follow one pricing model while others will use either one depending on the circumstances (or give you, the client, a choice). You may be wondering... Which pricing model should I prefer? Is one better than another? What are the dangers I should watch for with these pricing models? What benefits do these pricing models have? We at Rystedt Creative think that you should be empowered as much as possible when shopping for creative content. So, to that end, here's our list of pros and cons for paying per project vs paying per hour: [text_with_frame id="368c1dbfefba91dceb946d322e0e86bc" content="‹¨›p‹˜›‹¨›em‹˜›If you find this article helpful consider giving it a share‹¯›nbsp;‹¨›/em‹˜›?‹¨›/p‹˜›" line_color="rgba(0,0,0,.07)" text_font="body" heading_font="heading" animation="none" animation_speed="2" animation_delay="0" __fw_editor_shortcodes_id="e6852c2dacc162bc8c34ba646905e841" _fw_coder="aggressive"][/text_with_frame] Paying Per Project for Web Development Per project pricing is the most common pricing model among established web-developers, web-designers, and web firms. Consequently, if you have been shopping for web services you have probably already received some proposals with per project pricing. Con of paying per project: Despite being the most common pricing model amongst established professionals, per project pricing…

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What’s The Real Cost of Creative Content?

When you think about working with a creative content professional to boost your brand or business, there are probably two things that immediately come to mind: First: “I’m going to get a personalized product that perfectly fits my business and brand!” And: “Holy crap! This is expensive!” If you were to order something like a customized ceramic pet food bowl from an artisan potter, you expect to pay more than you would for a similar product from, say, Walmart or PetSmart. You might pay three or four times more for a bowl that’s made without toxic chemicals or has a color scheme that you picked and your pet’s name etched into the side. The same rule applies when you are in the market for intangible creative products, like photos, design work or custom content. It’s hard to value creative intangibles when you’ve never shopped the market for them before. Often, people imagine that creative work should only cost them a little more than an out of the box product, like a subscription to a drag-and-drop web builder (Weebly, Wix, Squarespace), for example. And unfortunately, the internet – which connects businesses and individuals to any type of creative professional we could ever imagine – does a lot to devalue the hard work that creatives put into the products that they offer. This is a huge problem. [text_with_frame id="368c1dbfefba91dceb946d322e0e86bc" content="‹¨›p‹˜›‹¨›em‹˜›If you find this article helpful consider giving it a share‹¯›nbsp;‹¨›/em‹˜›?‹¨›/p‹˜›" line_color="rgba(0,0,0,.07)" text_font="body" heading_font="heading" animation="none" animation_speed="2" animation_delay="0" __fw_editor_shortcodes_id="e6852c2dacc162bc8c34ba646905e841" _fw_coder="aggressive"][/text_with_frame] What Happens When Businesses Devalue Creative Work? As a writer, I spend a small portion of my time browsing writing job postings to stay on top of emerging niches and content types that companies…

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Why Reliable Web Hosting Matters for Your Business

Your business needs reliable web hosting so that you (and your visitors) can depend on your website today (and tomorrow). Every website is hosted somewhere. Hosting is the service that gives your website a location in the Web. Every website has hosting - including yours. Minimal web hosting provides your business with server space for your website's files. Yet hosting can also include additional features and services that increases available memory to handle spikes in traffic, protects your website from possible security breaches, backs up your website when changes are made, and more. It is these additional features and services that can make some web hosting services more reliable than others. Your business needs reliable web hosting so that your contact information, listed services, menu, or e-commerce portal is always available to your visitors. So what makes web hosting reliable? Look for these factors when shopping for web hosting and if you have had a poor web hosting experience so far, consider moving to a more reliable host. Reliable web hosting is... Dependable Nearly every web host today reports "100% uptime" - meaning that the websites they host are never down unexpectedly. Yet such claims do not mean that your website will always be online. These claims do not include "scheduled downtime" that may occur due to server maintenance. They also do not include downtime that may be accidentally caused by your developer or yourself. Sometimes... web hosts just lie. One of our WordPress maintenance and support clients host their website through a small upstart hosting company. They claim 100% uptime. Yet during our first two months with this client we submitted multiple tickets for unschedule and unexplained downtime that…

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The Mobile Trend

Online browsing habits have changed greatly over the last decade. No longer are users relying on their PCs for opening your emails, searching for your services, or purchasing your products. The majority of hours spent, search queries made, and emails opened are now from mobile devices. The smartphone trend has changed and will continue to change the Web. A slew of new smartphones are expected in 2018 including new iPhones (likely a total of three new handsets), new Google Pixels, and the LG G7. Innovation in mobile has slowed but not stopped with manufacturers now releasing handsets with always listening voice assistants, multiple cameras to detect depth, facial recognition, and processors faster than most office PCs. Thankfully your website can look beautiful on these mobile devices. You may not even need to completely rebuild your website to accomplish this. There are multiple solutions to mobile optimize your website including separate mobile URLs, adaptive design, and responsive design. Regardless of which method you choose to optimize your site the statistics show that your website must be mobile optimized to continue to generate traffic and convert visitors. An outstanding website is mobile optimized. Sales In 2016 the CEO of Intel, Brian Krzanich, stated that the upgrade cycle for PCs was slowing from an average of four years to an average of five to six years. He stated that "Right now, it's easier to move your phone to a new phone than your PC to a new PC". This comparison is telling. Buyers are using their phones to replace some of what their PCs do and PC sales are suffering. At the close of 2016 smartphone buyers were upgrading their devices at an…

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How to Create a Search Engine Optimized Company Timeline Using HTML and CSS

In this post we are going to demo how to create a search engine optimized company timeline using HTML and CSS. Company timelines are a common feature of business website about pages. Some visitors want to know where your organization has come from (and where it is going). And, let's be honest, most businesses like to show their growth over the years. Some companies design their timelines as a simple list - like Starbucks: Other companies design interactive timelines with accompanying media - like Ford: In this post you will learn how to create a company timeline using HTML and CSS that looks beautiful but stays simple. This method also maintains proper HTML heading structure so that search engines can easily index your timeline. You can use this method yourself on nearly any website. Our timeline will be stylized but simple. When we are finished we will have something that looks like this: [text_with_frame id="368c1dbfefba91dceb946d322e0e86bc" content="‹¨›p‹˜›‹¨›em‹˜›If you find this article helpful consider giving it a share‹¯›nbsp;‹¨›/em‹˜›?‹¨›/p‹˜›" line_color="rgba(0,0,0,.07)" text_font="body" heading_font="heading" animation="none" animation_speed="2" animation_delay="0" __fw_editor_shortcodes_id="e6852c2dacc162bc8c34ba646905e841" _fw_coder="aggressive"][/text_with_frame] Step 1: Write Your Timeline's Content Before you get to any HTML or CSS go ahead and write up your timeline. Here's ours: Rystedt Creative Origins Timeline 1994 - Gabrielle picks up a blue crayon and writes her name - a writer is born. 2002 - Joshua builds a PC and checks out some books on HTML from the library. 2005 - Joshua begins regular web maintenance for a display product retailer. 2007 - Joshua begins offering web-development consultation to organizations as a young word of mouth freelancer. 2013 - Gabrielle graduates college with a BS in business administration. Joshua and Gabrielle get married but don't…

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